Yvonne Lindsay - Propositioned By The Tycoon - Mr Strictly Business / Bought - His Temporary Fiancée / A Win-Win Proposition

“My partner.”

His eyes narrowed. “Ah, the mysterious co-owner. You realize you can’t keep her identity hidden after last night. Schedule a meeting with her. If we’re going to turn your business around, I’ll need to know everything about it from the ground up. And that includes whatever you can tell me about your partner.”

Catherine reluctantly nodded. “I’ll arrange it. What’s next?”

“Next, I called Natalie Marconi, and she agreed to see us in…” He checked his watch. “An hour and a quarter. You’ll be expected to tender an abject apology.” He held up a hand before she could interrupt. “I know you took care of that last night, but it needs to be done again in the cold light of day. I doubt anything we do or say will help, but—”

“But we need to try.”

He picked up his tie from where he’d draped it over his desk chair. “Exactly.”

She shot Gabe a keen-eyed look. “Somehow I suspect she would have refused to see me if you hadn’t placed the call.” She didn’t wait for him to confirm what she already knew. “Just so you’re aware, I plan to give her a full refund.”

Snagging his suit jacket, he shrugged it on. “How bad a bite is that going to take out of your reserves?”

She didn’t want to think about it. “A big one,” she admitted. “Not that it matters. It has to be done.”

“Agreed.” A hint of sympathy colored the word. He guided her from his office out into the foyer and paused beside Roxanne’s vacant desk. “Let’s see if meeting with her won’t help you retain a small portion of goodwill.”

“Where’s your assistant?” Catherine asked casually while he scribbled Roxanne a quick note. At least, she hoped the question came across as casual. Considering what she’d like to do to his precious assistant, she was lucky it didn’t sound as though she was chewing nails.

“In the field. I’ve spent the past six months negotiating a takeover of a plant that manufactures boat engines. It’ll dovetail nicely with another company I own that custom-designs yachts. Right now we outsource quite a number of components. I’d like to change that.”

“So you’re busily acquiring businesses that manufacture those outsourced components.”

“Exactly.” He propped the note on Roxanne’s computer keyboard before walking with Catherine to the bank of elevators. “Roxanne is working to set up a meeting to hammer out the final details. For some reason the owner, Jack LaRue, has been dragging his feet, and I need to find out why and resolve whatever issues remain. Roxanne has a way of…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say, she can motivate people to stop dragging their feet.”

“Got it.”

The elevator doors parted and they stepped inside. “You’ve never cared for her, have you?” he asked.

What was the point in lying after all this time? “No.”

“Is it because she took over your job? Or is it a woman thing?”

Catherine stared straight ahead and counted to ten before responding. “Call it a clash of personalities.”

“Sorry. I don’t buy that. What’s the real reason?”

She faced him. “The truth?”

“No, I want you to lie to me.”

Catherine released her breath in a frustrated sigh. “I resented having to go through her to speak to you. I resented that she had the power to decide which of those messages she’d deliver and when she’d deliver them. I also resented the fact that she didn’t just want to take over my job, she wanted to take over my place in your life. Is that reason enough?”

Before Gabe could respond, the elevator doors parted and Catherine exploded from the car. Her heels beat a furious tattoo across the garage surface, a beat that echoed the anger chasing through her. She hadn’t realized until then how long those words had choked her and how badly she’d wanted to speak them. But now that she had, she realized they wouldn’t make the least difference. He wouldn’t believe her now any more than he had two years ago. When it came to Roxanne, he was as blind to her true nature as every other man.

Catherine paused beside Gabe’s Jag and struggled to regain her self-control. How the hell did Roxanne do it? It wasn’t just her looks. Plenty of women had incredible bodies, as well as faces that could have graced a goddess. Maybe it was the body combined with a Machiavellian brain that would have done Lucretia Borgia proud that gave Roxanne such an edge.

Gabe opened the car door and waited while Catherine slid in before circling the car and climbing behind the wheel. Instead of igniting the powerful engine, he swiveled to face her. “I’m sorry. I had no idea she was such a problem for you.”

“She isn’t a problem. Not any longer.”

“And I’ll make certain of that. When you call, I’ll give her strict instructions to put you straight through, even if I’m in a meeting.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.”

It took Catherine a moment to steady her breathing. “Why, Gabe?” she whispered. “Why couldn’t you have done this before when it first came up? Why now when it’s far too late?”

His jaw firmed, taking on an all-too familiar stubborn slant. “It’s not too late.” He started the engine with a roar. “You walked out on me for good cause. I admit there were problems. Serious problems. This time around, I intend to fix them.”

The drive to the Marconi estate took just under an hour. A maid, all starched and formal, escorted them to an equally starched and formal parlor that overlooked the scene of last night’s disaster. Catherine didn’t doubt for a moment that the uncomfortable choice of venue was deliberate.

“I’m not quite sure why you’re here,” Natalie said, once they were seated. She made a point of not offering them refreshments by pouring herself a cup of coffee from the gleaming silver service on the table at her side and taking a slow, deliberate sip. Her coldly furious eyes moved from Catherine to Gabe and back again. “I’m particularly in the dark about your presence, Gabe. It’s Ms. Haile who owes me both an explanation and an apology.”

“You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Marconi.” Catherine spoke up before Gabe could. “I do owe you an apology, and I can’t begin to express how sorry I am that your party was ruined.” She opened her purse, removed a check and placed it on the delicate coffee table that served as a buffer between her chair and Natalie’s. “This is a full refund.”

Twin spots of color chased across Natalie’s cheek-bones. “You think throwing money at me is going to fix this?”

“Not at all. I think refunding your money is the least I can do to compensate for my part in what happened. I’m sorry the security detail I hired was unable to intercept the intruders. I contacted the authorities this morning, and they informed me that the young men on the boats received an invitation from an unidentified woman. They’re continuing to look into it in the hopes of pinning down precisely who extended the invite, in case you wish to pursue the matter. The boaters involved have volunteered to recompense your guests, as well as the gondola company, for any damages incurred.”

“That will certainly help,” she reluctantly admitted. “And the sprinklers? That mistake is one hundred percent your fault.”

Catherine inclined her head. “I accept full responsibility for that. I promise you, I double-checked to make sure they’d been disengaged for the evening. I can’t explain how they were switched back on.”

“I can. You’re incompetent.”

“Natalie,” Gabe said softly.

“Well, what other explanation is there?” she retorted defensively.

“I can think of three. One, there was a power interruption and the device returned to its default setting. Two, someone accidentally changed the time. Or three, someone did it deliberately as a prank.” He paused to allow that to sink in. “There were a lot of youngsters there last night who might have considered it quite a lark to have the sprinklers go on in the middle of the party and watch the mayhem from a safe distance.”